Hi Tony

The spice vanilla comes from an vining orchid, Vanilla planifolia. The stem and leaves are usually plain green and quite thick, almost succulent like.
The vine needs to become very long before you'll get any flowers, sometimes several metres, and they grow well if left to wind themselves around other trees in a warm, humid environment.
I have several here at home that I hung out a few years ago and they have grown all over their neighbours and are generally ignored by me.

For me here, in about October, they begin producing their little green flowers that only open for a little while in the morning. They need to be polinated to produce a seed pod which then takes about 9 months to mature and become the vanilla pods that you buy.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Troy.

Hi Troy..so is this the same plant that vanilla comes from? I'd have to unwind it to get a full measurement, but the last time I did, it was just under 6' long.
BTW, they now come in variegated, which I just ordered from the same nursery I got this one 4 yrs ago..I can't wait until it comes in..
Living in IL, it's difficult maintaining high humidity in winter, but I keep a humidifer going and 2 indoor fountains..My hygrometer reads about 60%, sometimes higher depending how high the speed on my humidifer is. Thanks for your help..Toni

Hi Toni (sorry I mis-spelled your name!)

Yep, that sounds like you have the right plant, in which case it is the orchid that vanilla comes from. I have grown a couple to the point that I was able to use the pods, but it is a lengthy process.
6 feet (2m) is still a bit short so it could be a while before you get any flowers.

I have heard of, but have yet to see, any of the variegated varieties. They sound cool.

I believe Vanilla originated in Mexico and the plants you get everywhere else are imports. In Mexico they are pollinated by a little bee, which doesn't occur elsewhere, which is why they have to be hand polinated.

Vanilla is also the only commercial food crop that mankind gets from an orchid.

Interesting plant...

Cheers, Troy.

Troy, they sell the varieaged at www.tandcterrariums.com Click on tropical plants and scroll down..They have both the green and variegated.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to untangle the plant and measure its size..
What exactly do you polinate? I thought flowers were what needed polliination..hmm, I'm now confused..lol..

What do you feed your vanilla plants? Toni

Miracle grow

Bihai, which type of Miracle Gro? I've got one 11-55-11, and another for acidic plants. Toni

You're right, Toni, you cannot pollinate it until it blooms, and it has to attain a fair size before it'll bloom.

Ours is growing looped all over a plumeria tree (not the best location). It's been there several years and it bloomed heavily this year. I hand-pollinated it and now have lots of pods forming. Of course, after I did it I read that you shouldn't pollinate more than 100 flowers per vine or you'll overtax the plant-- I think maybe I overdid it (oops).

Apparently it takes about 9-10 months for the beans to ripen, after which you have to cure them. Does anybody have any experience doing this? I found step-by-step instructions on the web, but the person doing it was unsuccessful, so now I'm not sure what to do. You have to "sweat" them, and I'm not sure how to do it without them either getting all moldy or drying out. I'd appreciate any input because I'd like to sell the cured beans when they're ready.

Here is a link that might be useful: curing vanilla beans

My vanilla are growing on both plumeria and mango trees and they seem to be happy, so I don't know where else would be any better?

Do you know why it is neccessary to "cure" the vanilla pods? I have never done it and not noticed anything wrong with the pods I have produced. Perhaps it makes the flavour stronger?
I have produced pods a few times now and I leave them on the vine for as long as possible, 9 or 10 months is about right. This is apparently one of the secrets to getting good flavour from your vanilla, not to pick them prematurely. Leave them on the vine until they begin to split. After picking them I usually just leave them somewhere relatively open so they don't go mouldy, and they eventually dry out, go black and look just like the ones sold in the stores here.

Susan, your climate must be very similar to mine so this should work for you.

Cheers, Troy.

Toni, I just used the regular all purpose MG 15-30-15, or occasionally Peters 20-20-20. FL soil is not phosphorus-poor so we usually don't really need to supplement the P. (middle number) so the bloom special ferts (10-50-10, etc)are kinda redundant here, things bloom anyway

There are several different types of Vanilla. The commonest, Vanilla planifolia, which is the type that produces the flavoring, comes from the Amazon area of Brazil and is notoriously difficult to cultivate outside that area. It needs year round high temperatures and high humidity plus very bright light (5000+ foot candles) all year. I have one here in Brazil - I live outside the Amazon area - and all I have ever got is green leaves. Sorry if this a bit discouraging. I'm told other species are easier but may be hard to obtain.

Thanks everyone for your help..
Lisa, yep, that person was unsuccessful w/their beans..but I'd be happy if mine bloomed..lol..
My plant is the Vanillla plainfolia, 4 yrs old this summer. I guess it should cling onto something like you ppl set on Plumerias, etc. Thanks again..Toni